Boom Island Brewing Company is proud to announce a unique fundraising event aimed at comic book and craft beer aficionados on Friday, May 1, 2015. Renowned comic writer/artist Bill Willingham (Fables, Fairest, Jack of Fables) will autograph the personally designed label of Boom Island Brewing Company’s Belgian strong “Gravity No. 9.” A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization created to support comic artists and writers in need of emergency medical aid or financial support.

Willingham, a Rochester, MN resident known for his Fables and Elementals series, the book Down the Mysterly River, along with dozens of other notable titles dating back to the 1980’s, created the Gravity No. 9 label specifically to support the Hero Initiative. Limited supplies of bottles, posters and glassware will be made available at Boom Island on May 1, and at Wizard World Comic Con Minneapolis May 1-3.

Bill Willingham will be in the taproom to autograph bottles and posters on Friday, May 1 from 6pm-8pm.

Boom Island Brewing Company is located on 2014 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis MN 55422 in north Minneapolis. Find the alley entrance to the taproom in the back of the building. As far as beer labels go, the Willingham-designed Gravity No. 9 label is about as cool as it gets. Other comic creators will be in attendance to meet and greet the public as well. Supply is limited to less than 300 bottles and surely will become a collector’s item. Gravity No. 9 will also be available on tap for this event while supplies last.

About The Hero Initiative
The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book artists and craftsmen in need. Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $750,000 to the comics veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus, the writers of the new Fables: The Wolf Among Us series based on the hugely popular video game, appear at Austin Books & Comics on Wednesday January 14th from 4:30-8:00 pm to meet fans and sign comics!

Bill Willingham, the man who created Fables, one of the most loved and revered titles to hit comic book stands since Sandman, is coming to our area.

On September 4, Willingham will be at Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. He will be meeting with fans, signing comics and talking about the quickly approaching finale of Fables, which is scheduled to come to a conclusion with issue #150.

As everyone knows, Willingham’s career has encompassed more than just Fables. He was also the creator and writer of the fondly remembered book The Elementals as well as the DC Comics series Shadowpact and Day of Vengeance. But it’s safe to say everyone will be talking about Fables, the long running critical and commercial hit that has enchanted fans since the first issue. With the series coming to a close, here is your chance to tell Willingham what the series has meant to you and why it’s so special.

Captain Blue Hen Comics will have plenty of Fables books on hand as well as back issues and everything a comic book fan would need or want. So make your plans now and get your books ready. Bill Willingham doesn’t make it to the east coast that often, and who knows when it might happen again once Fables ends.

Bill Willingham, the award-winning creator of FABLES and FAIREST, appears at Challengers Comics from 4:00pm till 6:00pm on Wednesday, November 27th to celebrate the release of his original graphic novel FAIREST: IN ALL THE LAND!

Wait a moment, on second thought, “for immediate release” makes this sound awfully urgent, and it’s not. Yes, it does happen to be time-sensitive material and we’d like it released soon, or at least soonish, but it needn’t be immediate. Save “immediate” for medical emergencies, positioning yourself under a pop-up fly, and disarming bombs. At best, this falls more under the heading of, “as quickly as you can reasonably get to it.” Please, finish your coffee and that last bite of sandwich, visit the facilities (if you need to), relax a bit and settle yourself. Then, please, if you’d be so kind, release this puppy.

Thanks.

Fabletown and Beyond, our convention celebrating the Mythic Fiction movement in comics, is just around the corner.

A personal note from Bill Willingham, inviting you to think about attending:

Hi,

I’m Bill Willingham, the writer of the long-running comic series Fables. In just over a month I’ll also be hosting a small comic convention in Rochester, Minnesota called Fabletown and Beyond. It’s a convention about Fables and books like it.

If you go to our website you can find out all sorts of good things like who else is coming, what sorts of programming we’re planning to have (although it’s far from a comprehensive list yet). Please visit fablescon.com for the full tour.

Since it was designed from the beginning to be a small convention, with more time and opportunity to interact with the guests of your choice, we’re limited on how many folks can attend, and we’re beginning to close in on our hotel room and attendance limits.

So then, now seems the time to act. If you’re interested in attending, a month and a half away is nearly no time at all. Perhaps it’s time to pounce, to strike boldly, to do some other thing that is metaphorically equivalent to deciding to attend.

Also, you may not know this but it’s going to be the perfect show to which you’ll want bring the special love of your life. We’ve done extensive made-up scientific research on this. Think of Fabletown and Beyond as a romantic couples retreat, but with comics too.

We’re planning on a fine time to be had for all, including (but not limited to) game shows, a phone-photo scavenger hunt, with amazing prizes, and even opportunities for one-on-once conversations with your favorite artist and/or writer.

Pretty cool, huh?

Speaking for vast multitudes, I do hope we’ll see you there.

Also, for those in the greater Minneapolis and Saint Paul area, and its surroundings, you should know that The Crossings art studio in Zumbrota, as a lead in to Fabletown and Beyond, is hosting an all comic art gallery show, throughout the entire month of February.

It’s going on right now and will continue throughout the rest of the month. It features the comic art of myself, Gene Ha, Adam Hughes, Mark Buckingham, and Chrissie Zullo, all of whom will also be attending the convention in March.

Many original pieces have already sold. It’s on track to being the best gallery show the venue has ever had. But we’ve stocked the art in deep. Many more pages and comic art covers are still available and will be throughout the month.

For more information you can visit The Crossings website at: crossingsatcarnegie.com or by calling them at 507 732 7616.

Of course any unsold covers and pages will be available again at Fabletown and Beyond.

Comic Books are big. They rule Hollywood now, and before they’re drawn, they need to be written.

It can be tough to write for the specific medium of comics, unless you can think like an artist. Bill Willingham, a thirty year veteran of comic book writing, and winner of comics’ most prestigious award for comic writing, will take you through the ins and outs and how to write when it’s going to be drawn.

This is a one-day class on some of the special considerations one should have in writing prose to sell, including how to keep it short and lively. We’ll also discuss some of the special considerations for writing to specific markets, like Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and other genres.

Bill Willingham is a novelist, short story writer and comic book writer, winner of many industry awards and four time Hugo nominee. His work has been translated into far too many languages, none of which he can read.

Bill Willingham signs at The Silver Snail on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 from noon – 7:00pm! Spend Halloween with the creator of Fables!

Bring all your Bill Willingham goodies to the store to have him sign and/or personalize a few of your favourite things. Depending on the size of the line, there will be a few signing restrictions made, so just keep that in mind when picking out what you want to bring to the store.

Celebrating the launch of Kristian’s new crime graphic novel 99 Days, as well as the culmination of Sturges’s run on Jack of Fables, the latest Cinderella miniseries by Roberson and the first storyline of Dogs of Mars by Maybury, we’ll also have plenty more work from these creators available! That includes free copies of the Free Comic Book Day issue of Roberson’s Elric: The Balance Lost while supplies last!

The Hero Initiative has several auctions to win an opportunity to rub elbows with comic book celebrities! And on a yacht no less! Joe Quesada (writer, artist, and chief creative officer at mighty Marvel Comics), Dave Gibbons (writer and artist of Watchmen, Martha Washington, The Originals, and many other timeless comics classics), and Bill Willingham & Mark Buckingham (creators of Fables) have each donated their time to knock back some cocktails with their fans!